1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to an improved and more economical magnet shaft assembly for operating a speedometer and an odometer.
2. Brief Summary of the Prior Art
Speedometer and odometer assemblies incorporate a magnet shaft usually of bronze having a noncircular axially extending recess at one end. The recess receives the correspondingly shaped flexible shaft end that rotates the magnet shaft. The other magnet shaft end has a magnet and flux collector staked thereon and usually is provided with another recess for journaling one end of the speedometer pointer shaft.
The magnet shaft, in addition, must be provided with means to prevent axial movement when mounted in the speedometer boss. A helical gear is also formed on the magnet shaft or on the flux collector to transmit movement to the odometer, as, for example, shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,693,459 and 3,768,315.
As may be appreciated, numerous steps are involved in the above described assembly, several of which are usually performed manually, and consequently the assembly is relatively expensive. Additionally, the parameters of each assembly may vary widely to in turn render operation variable or inaccurate.